The Bulls engaged in a busy Monday of bookkeeping, briefly acquiring Michael Carter-Williams from the Rockets to ease their luxury tax bill.

The Bulls sent a heavily protected 2020 second-round pick that’s unlikely to convey to the Rockets for Carter-Williams and cash. The Bulls then waived Carter-Williams before the 4 p.m. deadline for non-guaranteed deals to become fully guaranteed.

In order for the trade to be finalized, MarShon Brooks was waived because the Bulls had 15 players. After the two transactions, the Bulls now have 14 players, which allows them to take back more players than they send out in an uneven trade or take a look at players on 10-day contracts.

The Rockets initiated the talks to save roughly $2.5 million in luxury tax payments by unloading Carter-Williams’ contract. The cash sent to the Bulls in the deal is expected to cover close to the remaining balance owed on Carter-Williams’ and Brooks’ deals.

Also, the $1.3 million contracts of Ryan Arcidiacono and Shaquille Harrison became fully guaranteed. Arcidiacono, who played on a two-way contract for the Bulls last season, wasn’t even a lock to make the roster out of training camp. But the gritty guard ranks third in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio and has become a dependable rotation player. The Bulls value Harrison’s defensive prowess.

Tough talk

Zach LaVine doubled down on his claim Sunday that the Bulls need to be “tougher,” a theme following Monday’s lively practice in which coach Jim Boylen could be heard yelling throughout.

“I just think we need to be more physical,” LaVine said. “I feel like when teams see us they can take advantage of us at times in the game. And I don’t think that’s a good trait to have as a team. I think overall we need to be tougher. If that’s sending a message by committing a foul early on in the game or setting the tone by not just playing your way into the game, I think I gotta do a better job with that.”

Layups

Both Bobby Portis and LaVine practiced fully on Monday. Boylen said he doesn’t yet know if Portis will be on the same 20-minute limit he played on Sunday when the Bulls travel to Portland, Ore., for Wednesday’s game. LaVine took a shot to the groin on Sunday but finished the game. ... With Portis back, Jabari Parker returned to not playing by coach’s decision after a one-game rotational reprieve on Friday. Boylen said Parker “practiced hard” on Monday. ... Portis, an Arkansas native, on his NFL fandom: “I want the Cowboys to win the Super Bowl, even though everybody is going to bash me because we’re in Chicago and they want me to root for the Bears. I’ve been a Cowboys fan since I’ve been a little kid. That’s never going to change.”